Felix A. Maradiaga

• Founding Director, Civil Society Leadership Institute, Nicaragua

Master's in Public Administration, Kennedy School, Harvard. 1997, helped co-found Nicaragua's Ministry of Defence; 1997-2004, led Nicaragua's Office for Combatant Reintegration; presided over National Technical Committee on Disarmament; directed interagency team reforming the defence sector in Nicaragua; 2004-07, youngest ever Secretary-General, Ministry of Defence, Nicaragua; 2005, co-author, National Defence White Paper; since 2007, Founder, Instituto de Liderazgo de la Sociedad Civil, part of Movement for Nicaragua, the country's largest democratic advocacy and watchdog organization. Author of book on small arms disarmament, arms control, budget transparency and international security cooperation. Recipient of numerous awards, including: two medals from Nicaraguan Army, for distinguished service during emergency responses in natural disasters; UN Disarmament Fellow (2004); Yale World Fellow, Yale University (2008).